Alarm system for cash registers



Dec. 2, 1941. D D. RANKIN 2,264,952

ALARM SYSTEM FOR CASH REGISTERS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 18, 1939 24 2526 27 a! Q Q Q Q 28 & ,W

, a2 23 i z|- -15- l I g as LII Q e;

FIG. 2 FIGS HG. 1

3). :s o I G as 22 17 21 F 4 'NVENTOR ATTORNEY the four compartments,

Patented Dec. 2, 1941 ALARM SYSTEM FOR CASH REGISTERS AND THE LIKEDonald Drummond Rankin, Verdun, Montreal, Quebec, Canada ApplicationAugust 18, 1939, Serial No. 290,881

1 Claim.

The invention relates to an alarm system for cash registers and thelike, as described in the present specification and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing that forms part of the same.

The invention consists essentially in the means for safeguarding papercurrency against hold-up and thefts in general, as more particularlydescribed in the claim for novelty following a description in detail ofan acceptable form of the invention.

The objects of the invention are to furnish an alarm system that can beinstalled in cash registers, bank tellers inside counters and innumerous other places where paper currency is kept; to provide an alarmsystem that will eliminate holdups and prevent burglars from escapingwith their loot, and generally to provide an alarm system that will beof a great value to banks, jewellery firms, and numerous other stores aswell as to the public at large.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a plan view of a stationary base of a cashregister.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the currency drawer.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the bottom of the currency drawer.

Figure 4 is a plan view showing parts constituting the trap.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the runnersand the electric connections.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view shown in right anglesto the view shown in Figure 5.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the variousfigures.

Referring to the drawing, the stationary base l5 has the copper runnersl6 and H rigidly secured thereto, and the alarm bell lfl'is also shownon this base but may be situated in any suitable place. The wires l9 and2|) lead from the runners Hi and ll respectively to the alarm system.

The currency drawer indicated by the numeral 2| has the runners 22 and23 rigidly secured thereto, and it will be seen that these runnerscombined with the runners I6 and I1 will form a contact at all timesduring the opening and closing of the register drawer and yet neversetting off the alarm until the certain bill or bills are removed. Thestore employees having access to the register being the only ones toknow of the trap which is hereinafter described.

In Figure 2,

the different the register drawer is shown with 24, 25, 26, and 21, and

in one or more of these the trap is installed,

and this trap is made up from a thin wire 28, being fastened at one endby adhesive tape 29, or by any other suitable means, and at the otherend of this wire, there is a fibre plate 3|! connected thereto, and thisfibre plate extends in between the two plates constituting the switch3|.

The lower metal plate 3| of the switch is attached to the upper surfaceof the currency drawer 2| by any simple standard method such as screwingor nailing, or any suitable alternative such as gluing into a cavity inthe drawer, enclosing a light metal frame in the manner of a ticketslide or other similar means. It is to be understood that the plates 3|are only thickness so as to make the trap as inconspicuous as possible.The fibre plate 30 is also of very thin material for the same reason andmay be tapered to facilitate easy withdrawal. When the fibre plate iswithdrawn by means of wire 28 attached to lower note, the upper metalplate 3| falls on the lower plate by force of gravity which may beaugmented by having attached a small spring as in a mouse trap, tendingto close upper and lower plates upon withdrawal of the fibre pad 30.

Out of the number of bills, one of them is a paper currency bill withoutany value and this bill will be at the bottom and on its underside itwill have a piece of adhesive tape or other means for connecting it tothe thin wire 28, in other words, this bill will be trapped, and as soonas the bills are removed from the compartments, this valueless bill willbe pulled upwardly with the other bills, and being connected to the thinwire, it will remove the fibre plate from the switch plates, whichplates will then connect and close the circuit to the alarm system.

This device has been described just for one of the compartments, but itcan be applied to each of the compartments in the cash register ifdesired, and it is understood that this device can be connected to anyalarm system, such as for example, a system consisting of a transformer,dry cells, and one or more bells, and a cut-out switch, and the trap isof course concealed under the paper currency bill without value asdescribed above, the bill being lifted just as easily as the other billsin the register, but it will automatically set off the alarm.

It is understood that numerous changes in the shape, size, and materialmay be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as claimed hereinafter.

What I claim is: and adapted to come in contact with one another Analarm system for cash registers compristhrough gravity when theinsulatingrplate has ing; a stationary base, a pair of electric conbeenremoved, a wire secured to said insulating ductor plates secured to saidbase, a currency plate and extending therebeyond, a currency bill drawermovable above said stationary base, a 5 adapted to be connected with thefree end of said pair of electric conductor plates secured to the wire,electrical connections between said conunderside of said drawer andadapted to come in ductor plates, and electrical connections fromcontact with said conductor plates of said base, said conductor platesto an alarm system; conductor plates secured within said drawer andhaving a movable insulating plate therebetween 10 DONALD DRUMMONDRANKIN.

